With PMS and TOM arriving I’m not surprised one bit by the gain. It’s been a rougher TOM week.

Some months I’m grouchy during “that time” and then I get over it quickly and some times I’m more weepy. This was a weepier month. Stinkin’ hormones… I love that this body was able to conceive and bear children, but I could do without the monthly cycles. 🙂

Since my moods were a bit weepier I had to step away from being so focused on food and the weight loss world. I tracked my food, I exercised three days this week so far, but I mentally stepped away from the pressures of needing to lose weight.

It was overwhelming me with guilty feelings and then tears would come and, folks, I don’t want food to have that kind of power in my life.

So, instead of focusing on me and my weight issues I looked elsewhere and have spent four days (and counting) helping out some friends of ours by watching their four kids all day, every day. I’ve worked on a craft project. I’ve kept up with daily tasks and gotten good rest nightly.

And, yes, I’ve scanned through the weight loss blogs I follow, but only for a few minutes a day and then I went back to things presently going on in my life.

One of those things, and a non-scale victory of sorts, was as I putting “hang-up” laundry away last night I pulled out a shirt that used to be too tight on me. Too tight, as in when I bought it I was so vexed because it was supposed to be a 2X and it wouldn’t even button…well, that was a good five or six years ago and somehow I’ve kind of passed it up in fitting into it. I, um, am now too small for it; as in I can grab a handful of the front of the shirt and it would still fit comfortably. LOL oops…

As I gathered the front of the button-up shirt in my fist and saw the new me that was hiding under there I thought, “See? It’s not all that bad.”

So, I am reminded for the umpteenth time to just take it a day at a time. This is life and a life change, not a diet. I will keep going.

Leah – not only don't let food have any power over you, but don't let the scale have power over you. You are more than a number. If you stayed exactly the weight you are right this minute for the rest of your life, you have to love yourself and be proud of the *you* that you currently are. This means not giving power to the scale for the loss as well. No getting really excited or happy with losses and never getting depressed and angry over gains.